Ranking the teams was very hard this week after a few upsets and a few teams closing the gap on teams already ranked. After the 1st 15 teams or so, there are about 30-40 more that can all make arguments about being ranked and at what position. That being said, I looked over many teams records as well as who they won and lost to and was finally able to conclude my top 35. There are several teams new to the rankings or simply making a return while Clemson fell off the charts despite losing to a great Duke team, (Explanation below) Previous ranking in ()

1. Kansas 13-0 (1)

Kansas finally played a ranked opponent (and on the road), and didn’t waste the chance to show what they’re made of.

2. Texas 13-0 (2)

Texas didn’t look impressive against TX A&M-CC, but they didn’t need too after what they did the previous 2 weeks.

3. Kentucky 15-0 (3)

4. Purdue 13-0 (5)

Purdue looked like a Final 4 contender winning against West Virginia. Further tests coming this week against Minnesota and at Wisconsin may show us even more.

5. Villanova 12-1 (6)

6. Duke 12-1 (7)

Duke is building momentum after routing Clemson in their ACC opener.

7. Syracuse 13-1 (4)

If they're who we think, their next real test should be at West Virginia Jan. 16th.

8. North Carolina 11-3 (9)

9. Michigan State 11-3 (11)

Big game coming up Wednesday against Wisconsin!

10. West Virginia 11-1 (8)

Last 4 games: Last second shots to beat Marquette AND Cleveland St, OT win to Seton Hall, and a 14 pt loss to Purdue. Can't call them a Final 4 contender yet despite the high ranking.

11. Kansas State 13-1 (12)

12. Georgetown 11-1 (15)

Will G-Town be the 3rd straight highly ranked team to narrowly beat Marquette?

13. Tennessee 10-2 (13)

With allegations and suspensions pending, it feels like a rapid decline is just on the horizon.

14. Mississippi 11-2 (16)

15. Gonzaga 11-3 (17)

Zags are a very talented team and picking up steam heading into conference play.

16. New Mexico 12-1 (20)

The Lobos bounced back from their loss to Oral Roberts with quality wins over Texas Tech and Dayton.

17. Wisconsin 12-2 (25)
Wisconsin can really make some noise this week playing at Michigan St Wednesday and back home against Purdue on Saturday. They can also be exposed as pretenders though!

18. Pittsburgh 12-2 (NR)

Pittsburgh's dismantling of Syracuse certainly warrants everyone's attention as they are no longer a team to over-look.

19. UCONN 10-3 (10)

A 9 spot drop may be harsh, but UCONN will have a shot to prove themselves and move back up if they take care of business the next 2 weeks against Seton Hall, Georgetown, Pitt and Michigan.

20. Florida State 12-2 (26)

21. Texas Tech 12-2 (19)

22. Temple 11-3 (21)

Can't be too upset about losing to #1 Kansas. Time to step it up as A-10 play begins.

23. Texas A&M 10-3 (22)

24. Cincinnati 10-3 (NR)

Next game against Pittsburgh suddenly looking more interesting... and high profile!

25. Washington 10-3 (18)

26. Brigham Young 14-1 (29)

27. Wake Forest 11-2 (32)

OT wins against A-10 teams Richmond and Xavier showed both strengths and weaknesses.

28. Georgia Tech 11-2 (32)

29. Northern Iowa 12-1 (33)

Still looking strong as they begin MVC play 3-0.

30. USC 10-4 (NR)

Despite self-imposed sanctions ruling out any Pac-10 and/or NCAA Tournament hopes, there's no doubt the Trojans have looked great winning 8 straight since Gerrity became eligible.

31. UNLV 12-2 (28)

Unfair to drop them 3 spots without playing? 1 spot for a team that beat them, and 2 more for teams that won several games this week while the Rebels played no one.

32. Florida 11-3 (NR)

The Gators won 3 games last week after losing 3 straight. That along with previous quality wins against Florida St and Michigan St have them back in the mix.

33. Miami (Fla) 14-1 (34)

34. Minnesota 11-3 (NR)

Seven straight wins after losing 3 in a row. (A fluke loss to a Portland team who started hot, a 1 pt loss to a very good Texas A&M team, and a 5 pt loss @ to what seems to be a decent Miami team)

35. Rhode Island 11-1 (NR)

The Rams have only 1 loss, by 2 pts @VCU, and wins @Davidson, @Boston College, and vs Oklahoma St.

The next 15:(In no particular order to round out my top 50)

Clemson 12-3 Best win is by 1 over a suspect Butler and lost to 3 other teams worth anything including Illinois = below 35 ranking.

Dayton 10-3 Switch Butler for Georgia Tech and you have the same thing (All 3 losses to teams better than Ill + GT>Butler=Dayton#36)

California 10-4

Butler 10-4

Ohio St 10-4

Oregon 10-4

Virginia Tech 12-1

William & Mary 10-2

Baylor 11-1

UAB 12-2

Richmond 11-4

Memphis 10-3

Oklahoma St 11-2

Mississippi St 12-2

Marquette 9-5

I apologize for the different fonts and spacing and bold vs regular, but I have tried editing this post several times and have been unable to make it any better than this unfortunately. Hopefully you all still enjoy it and can make out what I'm trying to say everywhere. Also, if it is still showing 1/4/09, it should say 1/4/10 as that edit doesn't seem to be working either.

This is my 1st of what I hope will be for the foreseeable future, an answer to Parrish's Top 25 + 1. Although it is titled "Poll", it will actually just be my rankings for a while although I may at some point begin making it an accumulative poll if I can find enough participants to do it. Because there is already a People's Poll Blog and Thread, I may opt to make this poll for KU fans so I can see how we as a group view the rest of the league.

This is how I scored things after Sunday's (12/27/09) games, so the records and placement do not reflect anything that happened in games on Monday or later. Because I think there are more than 25 or even 26 teams worth mentioning, these and future rankings will include up to 10 additional teams. (And even then I know that some people will feel their team was snubbed and I'm sorry for that) I hope you enjoy these rankings and everyone is more than welcome to leave a comment. Previous ranking shown in ()